Thermal-resistance joints and couplings facilitate thermal expansions and mechanical motions in high-temperature pneumatic systems and the like. In the aircraft industry, as well as other industries, a pneumatic duct system is employed for carrying a heated substance under pressure. For example, compressed air bled from an aircraft engine is under high temperatures and, thus, pressures. As such, a coupling used in such a duct system must afford a highly efficient and dependable static and dynamic sealing protection and flexibility that is not subject to fatigue or wear failures under such conditions. The flexible coupling must be configured to also meet a conductivity requirement (e.g., electrical resistance from end-to-end of the coupling of no greater than 0.50 megaohms).
Toward that end, conductive wire mesh has been used to produce such a coupling. More specifically, the mesh is integrated into the coupling, which may require large convolutions. The mesh is equally spaced around a circumference of the flexible coupling and may or may not be visible. The mesh is typically made of, for example, an elastomeric composite and Monel wires. The coupling may be silicone-reinforced with a fabric such as aramid (particularly, Nomex®) or reinforced with fiberglass or ceramic fibers.